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ONU Law to host 14th Annual Diversity Forum

ONU Law's Black Law Students Association will host its 14th annual Diversity Forum in the College of Law’s Moot Court Room on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 11 a.m.

With its theme of “Back to the Future: The Past, Present and Future of Legal Practice,” the panel will discuss the historically popular fields of practice while addressing present and future trends such as the market saturation of specific fields and the developing areas of practice.

The panel will consist of Judge Benjamin Logan, presiding judge of the 61st District Court of Michigan, and Judge Gershwin Drain, district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Logan, who earned his Bachelor of Arts in accounting and history from ONU in 1968 and his juris doctorate from ONU’s Pettit College of Law in 1972, practiced as an attorney for 16 years and was a senior partner at Logan and Beason. He was elected to his current position in 1988 and has served 23 years as a judge for the 61st District Court of Michigan.

In 2012, President Barack Obama appointed Drain to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Prior to his appointment, he served as judge on the Wayne County Circuit Court from 1997 to 2012, where he primarily handled civil cases. From 1987 to 1997, he served as judge for the recorder’s court, exclusively handling criminal cases. In 1986, Governor James J. Blanchard appointed Drain to the 36th District Court for the City of Detroit, where he served for one year.

Drain received his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in 1970. In 1972, he earned his law degree from the University of Michigan. In 1991, after five years of service on the bench, he received a Master of Judicial Studies from the University of Nevada-Reno.